The present invention is directed generally to catheter needle assemblies, and more particularly to a catheter needle assembly having an improved injection-molded body.
Catheter needles are widely used in hospitals and clinics for the injection of fluids into the human body. Typically, these needles include a hollow core needle or cannula which is inserted into a body cavity, and a body or handle attached to the cannula to facilitate positioning and insertion of the cannula. Principal considerations in the design and manufacture of such catheter needle assemblies are that they be compact in size, economical to manufacture, and present a minimal potential for contamination.
Catheter needle assemblies of the butterfly type, which include a thin plastic body having a central hub portion through which the cannula passes and from which a pair of wing-like handles or tab portions extend in diametrically opposed direction, have come into wide use because of their ease of storage and economy of manufacture. To enable the wing-like tab portions to be folded together to form a surface which can be conveniently grasped between the thumb and index finger, each of the tab portions of such assemblies has heretofore been provided with an axially extending channel or recess on the surface of its root, i.e. where the tab joins the central hub portion of the body. Unfortunately, such surface recesses increase the possibility of bacteria or other contaminants being retained on the surface of the catheter assembly and are therefore undesirable if a minimal potential for contamination is to be realized. Accordingly, the need has developed for a catheter needle assembly which does not have exposed channels or recesses on its exterior tab surface.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved catheter needle assembly.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved catheter needle assembly which has less potential for retaining contaminants.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved catheter needle assembly which has a smooth external surface free of channels or other contamination retaining recesses.